Using childhood nightmares to fuel dreams

Chronicle photoA book by Sue William Silverman of Grand Haven has been made into a movie, which will be broadcast on the Lifetime network.

Many writers can only dream of getting their novels published, let alone having them made into a movie. Author Sue William Silverman of Grand Haven has done both.

But the dream comes by virtue of a nightmare -- one she lived from the time she was 4 until 18 when her father would sneak into her bedroom regularly to molest her in the shadowy darkness.

That nightmare continued through adulthood, when a twice-married Silverman sought out men for sex in what she describes as a way to emulate her life growing up.

Years later, Silverman will see her memoir, "Love Sick: One Woman's Journey Through Sexual Addiction," transformed into a movie on Lifetime's Movie Network channel.

Sally Pressman, who stars in the Lifetime series "Army Wives," plays Silverman and David James Elliott, who starred in the TV show "JAG," co-stars. Silverman, like many authors, makes a cameo appearance.

Courtesy photoSue Silverman had her own trailer on the set of "Love Sick," the Lifetime Movie Network's adaption of Silverman's novel.

Silverman, 61, flew out to the movie set in Vancouver for a few days in August and met with the actors.

"That was a lot of fun," Silverman said. "The actors really cared about my story and were very supportive. The director and actors were conscientious in honoring the real details."

"Love Sick," published by W.W. Norton, is the story of Silverman's honest and first-hand account of sexual addiction. Silverman's first published memoir, "Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You," won the Associated Writing Programs Award Series in Creative Nonfiction. Silverman tells her story of being sexually abused by her father, a high-ranking government official.

She said she wasn't exactly looking for her book to be turned into a movie. When the opportunity presented itself, she said she couldn't pass it up.

Silverman was contacted by an independent Hollywood agent who had seen her book in a library. It had caught her eye and she wanted to turn the heart-wrenching tale into a TV movie. Silverman said it was a long process that began in 2004.

Courtesy photoSu Silverman and Sally Pressman, star of the Lifetime series "Army Wives," who plays Silverman in the movie.

"It's very exciting and something that I didn't think would happen," she said.
Silverman moved to Grand Haven in 1995. "I really love it here," she said. "It's really beautiful and is a great location."

Silverman was born in Washington, D.C., and her father was a high government official in the Truman administration. Her family later moved to the West Indies and Silverman worked on Capitol Hill and wrote speeches.

In addition to writing, Silverman is an associate editor of the literary journal Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction, as well as a professional speaker on the issues of child abuse, family dynamics and addictions.

Silverman has appeared on many nationally syndicated radio and TV programs including "Anderson Cooper 360" on CNN; a John Stossel special on ABC-TV; CNN-Headline News; the Montel Williams Show and the Ricki Lake Show.

She also is on the faculty for the Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program at Vermont College. She mostly corresponds with students by e-mail and meets with them a few times a year.

Silverman would like people to think of her stories as positive and not focus on the negativity.

"My story is one of hope and if people are in a bad place, maybe my stories will help them," Silverman said.

Silverman has signed a new contract with the University of Georgia Press to publish a book for women writing memoirs.

It will be about the craft of writing as well as about the emotional concerns women face when telling family secrets. For more information, visit her Web site at: www.suewilliamsilverman.com.